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Thursday, April 14, 2016

Church and Government Mark 1,050 Years of Christianity in Poland

Poland’s President Andrzej Duda,center, and his wife Agata
Kornhauser-Duda attend a Mass as part of Poland’s celebration of 1,050
years of the nation’s Catholicism at the 10th-century cathedral in
Gniezno, in western Poland, Thursday, 14 April 2016. Poland's bishops on
Thursday opened religious and political celebrations that mark 1,050
years of Christianity in Poland with a debate on its significance for
the nation. The church and the conservative government jointly organized
the three-day ceremonies that opened Thursday in the western town of
Gniezno, considered to be the cradle of Poland's Catholicism. (AP
Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

From Associated PressBy Czarek Sokolowski

GNIEZNO, Poland (AP) —
The head of Poland's influential Catholic Church appealed for an end to
enmity and divisions as he celebrated a Mass on Thursday that marked
1,050 years of Christianity in Poland.

The Mass was part of three days of religious and political ceremonies
that the church and the conservative government have organized in the
western town of Gniezno, considered to be the cradle of Poland's
Catholicism, and in the nearby city of Poznan, until Saturday.

Government members want the ceremonies to stress that Poland's
Catholic identity ties the nation to Western culture and values,
especially now when the European Union is criticizing its policies and
warning that they threaten democracy and the rule of law. The policies
have also led to massive street protests.

"Shouldn't we reach more boldly to the grace of holy baptism ... in
order to overcome enmity and discord, in order to seek reconciliation
and forgiveness that we all crave so much," Poland's Primate Archbishop
Wojciech Polak said during the Mass at the 10th-century Gniezno
Cathedral.

Some 90 percent of Poles declare themselves to be Catholics. The
country's Catholicism is dated from Prince Mieszko I, who ruled the area
that is now Poland. He was baptized in Gniezno around the year 966, on
advice from his Christian wife, Princess Dobrava of Bohemia, chroniclers
say.

Earlier in the day, Polak said that the baptism led to the growth of
the "spirit of ecumenical freedom and tolerance. There were no wars
between denominations. There was their creative coexistence."

During the Mass, the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro
Parolin, read out a message of blessing from Pope Francis, in the
presence of President Andrzej Duda, Prime Minister Beata Szydlo and
dozens of other dignitaries gathered at the Gothic cathedral, which
holds an ornate silver reliquary with the relics of St. Adalbert, a
10th-century Czech monk who preached Christianity in Poland.

Duda, a Catholic, said that Mieszko's christening gave Poland the
foundations of a modern state and a religion that remains with most
Poles until today.

"The spiritual and the state element were woven together and remain
that way," he said, referring to the church's authority that the current
government wants to strengthen.

Early in the day, Poland's bishops debated the role of Catholicism in
the nation. They also discussed Francis' meeting with world youth in
southern Poland in July, and Europe's refugee crisis, a communique said.

Duda will address a special session of lawmakers and senators in Poznan on Friday.

This website is dedicated to a renewal of Christian culture. It is inspired by Sir Winston Churchill, a valiant defender of Christian civilization, who believed "we have a great treasure to guard; that the inheritance in our possession represents the prolonged achievement of the centuries." With Churchill, we believe that a "fraternal association" of the English-speaking peoples must "for their own safety and for the good of all walk together in majesty, in justice and in peace.”